The new Apple MacBook Pro comes with a speedy Intel Core i5 or i7 processor, brilliant Retina display, a Touch Bar (if you're lucky), and enough juice to last a coast-to-coast flight with power to spare. Now that you've brought it home, what do you need to do to get it up and running? Here's a quick primer.

1. Plug it in Even though the system comes with a bit of juice in the battery from its post-assembly testing, you'll still need to plug the system in "just in case."

There's no way of knowing how long the system has been sitting around since it left the factory thousands of miles away, and it would be unfortunate if it lost power during the setup process, because you'd likely have to start over. Plug the USB-C charger in, and you're ready to move on to the next step.

2. Press the power button The power button is the top-most right key above the delete key. If you've upgraded from an older pre-2012 MacBook or MacBook Pro, you'll notice this is where the DVD eject button used to reside.

3. Choose your countryThe MacBook Pro will ask you what country you're in. This will guide which language you're using, as well as determining the format for things like dates, time, and the language in in macOS.

Choose correctly for your habits, since most people are picky about things like day-month-year sequence and whether to use 24-hour time or AM/PM. You can change or correct this setting later in the Language & Text control panel.

4. Choose your keyboard Right off the bat, it should suggest the US QWERTY keyboard as standard.

Choose Show All if you need to plug in a foreign keyboard or if you're setting up a MacBook Pro that you've bought overseas.

5. Connect to Wi-Fi The system will ask you to connect to a Wi-Fi network. Choose your router from the list of SSIDs presented, or click on the "use another network" button if you're using an Ethernet adapter or don't wish to connect to a network at this time.

6. Migrate your stuff The MacBook Pro will give you the option to migrate your accounts, password, apps, documents, and environment from another Mac. If you have a Thunderbolt cable and adapter, you can connect your old Mac at this time.

If you're using a Time Machine backup from an older Mac, you can connect the drive now. Once you connect the drive and click next, you can choose a backup or account to move over to your new MacBook Pro.

7. Set up iCloud The MacBook Pro will ask you to log in to your iCloud account by entering your Apple ID and password. This is equivalent to your .Mac or Me.com account if you're a veteran Apple user. If this is your first Mac, it would behoove you to create an iCloud account now.

This way you can take advantage of iCloud's free features, like email, find my Mac, and Keychain password sync with iOS devices. If you have a separate Apple ID for your iTunes account, you can enter this info here too. Otherwise, your Apple ID will work for both iTunes and iCloud.

We recommend that you enable Location Services and use "Find My Mac," as it will help you recover a lost MacBook Pro if you leave it in a coffee shop or even if it is stolen.

8. Agree to terms and conditions You'll have to agree to the terms and conditions next; they're pretty standard legalese that almost no one reads.

9. Choose a username and password You can just let macOS make up one based on your full name, but you can change that on this screen. You're also required to select a password at this time. If you want to disable your password later (though you shouldn't), you can do that in the Security or the Users & Groups control panel.

10. Select or opt out of Diagnostics & Usage It is an egalitarian idea, but allowing bug reports will help developers fix and update problems with macOS programs and the operating system itself. Uncheck these boxes if you'd rather keep a larger semblance of privacy.

11. Enable Siri Siri is the automated assistant introduced with iOS. Since this is a brand-new MacBook Pro, you should have more than enough power to run Siri with very little slowdown to your multitasking.

12. Set up Touch ID Another crossover from the iPhone is Touch ID, which lets you log in without typing your password. You'll still need to remember it for the first time logging on after a reboot, but it can shave precious seconds when you wake the system from sleep mode.

13. Enter your fingerprint to enable Touch ID Start with the index finger on your dominant hand. You can always add others later. Just like on the iPhone, you'll need to tap and lift your finger several times to register all the arches, loops, and whorls.

14. That's it! The next screen you see should be of the Mac filing all of this info away, and then you should see the majestic peaks of the Sierra desktop.

Joel Santo Domingo is the Lead Analyst for the Desktops team at PC Magazine Labs. He joined PC Magazine in 2000, after 7 years of IT work for companies large and small. His background includes managing mobile, desktop and network infrastructure on both the Macintosh and Windows platforms. Joel is proof that you can escape the retail grind: he wore a yellow polo shirt early in his tech career. Along the way Joel earned a BA in English Literature and an MBA in Information Technology...
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